I've always hated having to wait when my body is hungry. I'm going to eat eventually, so why not when my body is asking for it. Do you tell your car to wait another hundred miles before you fill up, even though the tank's on E? No, you fill it up as soon as possible. And you try to avoid absolute E.
Even as a child, I knew that the phrase, don't eat now; dinner's in an hour was bogus. We had all kinds of rules about when you could eat. Not between meals, but come mealtime you were supposed to stuff yourself silly, finishing all that someone else apportioned you.
How can someone else know how much to give you? How can any thoughtful adult insist a child finish off what they the adult, took to be a right amount? My appetite varies wildly through the day, week month and year. Activity levels, season, weather - they all account for fluctuations in your appetite, as do levels of stress and physical changes or growth. Who can know better than you, how much and what kinds of foods you need?
If we eat slowly, consciously, and gratefully, we acknowledge and accept the wonder of food. We digest better, and best of all, we stop eating much earlier because our bodies are sated. When you listen to your body, you will eat exactly what you need. Cravings are telling us what to eat. Oh sure, for the first two weeks, you'll eat nothing but your forbidden food - chocolate cookies or gin or whatever. But then you'll hear your body talking to you, quite clearly actually, and you will eat really well.
Your body will thank you, and you'll feel great.
As for the kids: they'll eat. Like dogs, kids won't starve themselves. They'll eat good food, especially if you don't keep junk in the house.
Kids should always be taught, right from the start, to enjoy their food and honor their body. My family always talks about our nightly 'feasts' and how healthy they are. The kids get right into choosing foods for flavour and nourishment.